The invention relates to an electrical conductor having a flat cross-section which has an electrically conducting material which is embedded in an electrically insulating material.
Electrical conductors of this kind are generally known. Such electrical conductors can be provided as, among other things, flexible flat cables (FFC) or flexible printed circuits (FPC). Such electrical conductors are being used, for example, in the automobile industry, where they are laid, for example, between a car roof or a car door and an assembly surface, in particular an interior trim, which has a textile-like surface.
The electrical conductors are typically bonded to the substrate, for example to the interior trim. However, the problem can then arise that the adhesive does not adhere reliably due to silicone oils which are used during the manufacture of the interior trim. Furthermore, bonded electrical conductors cannot be dismantled without problems if, for example, car parts at which such electrical conductors are laid are subjected to material separation and subsequent material recycling in order to reduce waste.
It is the object of the invention to provide an electrical conductor which can easily be laid in a vehicle compartment.
An electrical conductor comprising an electrically conducting material and an electrically insulating material is provided to satisfy this object. It is characterised in that the electrically insulating material has the hooks or loops of a hook and loop type fastener (a Velcro fastener) on at least one outer side.
On the basis of this formation, such electrical conductors can be fastened to the assembly surfaces provided therefor, in particular to interior trims having textile-like surfaces, by means of a Velcro-like connection. Problematic adhesive bonds thus become superfluous and are replaced by a durable Velcro connection. This means a cheap and fast laying of the electrical conductors in the vehicle compartment which is easy to handle.
Electrical conductors laid in this manner can be removed again in a correspondingly problem-free manner, which is an aspect which represents an increasingly more important cost factor, not only in automobile production, due to environmental requirements, in particular with respect to waste avoidance and the separation and recycling of materials.
Since the outer side of the insulating material is already provided with hooks or loops, no additional material having hooks or loops has to be applied to the electrical conductor, which would cause the thickness of the electrical conductor to increase unnecessarily and which would possibly make it impossible to lay the electrical conductor unobtrusively. Additional manufacturing steps such as the application and drying of adhesive can therefore be omitted and the flat cross-section of the electrical conductor maintained.
Furthermore, applications can be realised in which an interior trim having a fleece-like surface is fastened to an assembly surface, e.g. at the car roof, only by means of a Velcro connection. Electrical conductors provided with hooks and attached to the assembly surface can serve as fastening points for the interior trim.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims, the description and the drawings.
For instance, in accordance with a first advantageous embodiment, the electrically insulating material can have two layers between which the electrically conducting material is located. These layers can be realised by a sandwich-like design in which the electrically conducting material is bonded or laminated between two layers of insulating material.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the insulating material comprises a plastic foil provided with hooks or loops or a fabric provided with hooks or loops. Both materials can be manufactured at favourable cost and are easy to process. A common Velcro strip can therefore be used as the insulating material in the simplest case. Since, in comparison with the conventional manufacture of said electrical conductors, common plastic foils or fabrics are only replaced by such which have hooks or loops, no additional process steps arise in the manufacture of electrical conductors in accordance with the invention.
In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, both outer sides of the electrical conductor have hooks and/or loops. This allows fastening at both sides to appropriately formed interior trims or functional areas.
In a particularly advantageous constructional design, the electrical conductor is a flexible flat cable or a flexible printed circuit. Such electrical conductors can be attached without problem to bent surfaces or surfaces of a three-dimensional character such as occur, for example, in car roofs or car doors.